


Storybook

by Moonrose91



Series: Gift Verse [23]
Category: Marvel (Movies)
Genre: Gen, I need to write more Bruce, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-17
Updated: 2012-09-17
Packaged: 2017-11-14 10:30:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/514282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonrose91/pseuds/Moonrose91
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is all about the stories you tell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Storybook

Clint turned the storybook over in his hands.

A present from Loki, as Thor said, meant mischief in the making.

However, all it had was a collection of tales.

 _The Flower in the Dark, The Wolf That Cries,_ and _A Simple Circle_ were the three that Clint kept being drawn to. There were others, such as various stories that cast Fire Giants in the role of villain, but they were stories that were basically fairytales. He ran his hand down it. “Says _A Collection of Asgardian Fables for Children_ ,” Phil recited.

Thor laughed. “I remember those tales! _The Frost Giant and the Warrior_ was my favorite as a child, along with _The Sorcerer’s Price_ ,” he stated and Phil’s head snapped over to him, almost as if he had been electrified.

“Phil?” Clint questioned softly and Phil seemed to be taking a steadying breath.

“Did…Loki hear those tales?” Phil questioned, and he sounded like was trying to keep his temper in check.

“Father read them to us all the time,” Thor stated and Phil stared at the glass table in front of him.

“Barton, talk me through proper channels,” Coulson, not Phil, ordered.

Clint blinked in surprise, but obeyed. “What has passed has passed. You are not allowed to kill dignitaries. You are not allowed to kill envoys. You are not allowed to kill rulers of countries, realms, or planets. You are not allowed to make them mentally incompetent either. You are to hear, accept, and release. When release is difficult, you need to remove yourself to where you can calm down and return once you have calmed,” Clint recited.

“I’ll be back in a moment,” Phil stated and suddenly walked out.

They all looked at Clint, who glanced around. “Me too,” he stated and followed Phil out, gently catching him.

“What’s wrong?” Clint asked softly, while Phil took deep breathes, as if he was trying his hardest not to shout, scream, or cry…or worse.

“Clint, reading those stories to Loki would like telling Elizabeth stories about how deaf people are evil and the monsters under the bed!” Phil stated, voice strangled.

Clint twitched, as if he had been slapped.

“I had to debrief Thor to update Loki’s file. He explained his brother was Frost Giant. A Frost Giant sorcerer and Odin…read those stories to him! Taught him to fear and hate what he was! Thor is intelligent, but sometimes he doesn’t…understand. Yes, Loki needs to be locked up and kept away, made to face the justice for what he’s done. But…he had to have learned what he was for Odin to have told Thor. And…what must it have been like for him? To realize he was…Clint, what’s wrong?” Phil responded softly, only to see Clint bending over, holding his head like it was agonizing.

He was shaking and Phil was supporting him.

“Clint?”

To Clint, however, his husband’s voice echoed oddly.

* * *

_Loki twirled the staff around in his hands, smiling at it with hatred in his eyes._

_“You know, normally, I’d kill or abandon someone of your strong will, but I can’t now, not after I saw Elizabeth in your mind. You see, I cannot do to your Elizabeth what was done to my children. And I’m tired of being the monster under the bed,” Loki stated and he gave Clint a smile, but his eyes were pained now, staring at Clint and **wanting** what he had._

_“And, I was watching some Migardian movies. What was with all those morons and **monologueing**? Couldn’t they just shut up? They give more away that way. Words are so powerful and what is said can tell as much as silence,” Loki stated and gave a sigh, even as he glared viciously at the staff._

* * *

Clint gasped and Phil was supporting him. “Oh, God, it’s my fault! That’s how he knew about Elizabeth! He…he saw her in my mind,” Clint whispered and Phil wrapped his arms tightly around Clint.

Phil just held him and carefully had Clint press his head into his neck. And, together, they supported each other till they could head back into the debriefing.

Hours later, with Clint grasping the book tightly in his hands, he ran back to where Elizabeth was waiting for them, having been debriefed by Sitwell.

He still felt, however, like he was forgetting something.


End file.
